Rodalies Swaps R1 Trains for Buses Between Maçanet and Mataró
Rodalies put buses on part of the R1 on Sunday after an operational incident and copper theft. The R7 also closes until Dec. 6 for Adif works.
Rodalies (Catalonia’s commuter rail service) replaced trains with buses on part of the R1 line on Sunday morning after what it called an “incidència operativa”, an operational incident. The road service covers two stretches: Maçanet-Massanes to Blanes in La Selva, and Blanes to Mataró in the Maresme, according to public broadcaster 3Cat.
R1 trains were also running off their normal timetable, and Rodalies reported a new copper theft on the same line, between the Clot and Badalona stations. Rodalies described it as a new theft, meaning the line has been hit by copper thieves before.
Rodalies did not say what the operational incident was or how long the replacement buses would run.
What it means for R1 and R7 riders
Passengers between Maçanet-Massanes and Mataró have to switch to buses for part of the trip, which adds time to journeys along the coast. Sunday’s problems followed another day of widespread delays and slower trains across the Catalan rail network on Saturday, after a week of similar disruption. The R1 runs along the coast north of Barcelona, through the Maresme and on to La Selva, so the bus stretches cover the outer part of the line, from Mataró up to Blanes and inland to Maçanet-Massanes.
Weekend riders bear the first effects. People who use the R1 to reach the coast towns or to connect inland at Maçanet-Massanes face a change of vehicle and a longer ride on the affected sections.
A separate closure starts the same day. From Sunday until Dec. 6, the R7 is shut between Fabra i Puig and Cerdanyola Universitat, the station for the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB). Adif, the Spanish rail infrastructure manager, is carrying out works at Montcada Bifurcació. Students and staff who travel to the UAB campus by R7 lose that direct link for the whole length of the closure, which runs through the start of December.
The driver deal that was meant to restore service
Normal service had been expected back on Sunday. On Friday, Renfe (Spain’s state train operator) and the drivers’ union Semaf announced a new labor agreement that brings back the shift system used before Nov. 1.
Under that system, drivers can start their shifts at the stations they are assigned to and do not all have to travel to Sants first. According to 3Cat, the change should mean shorter waits, better punctuality and a gradual return to usual train frequencies. Sunday’s bus replacement on the R1 came on the first day that improvement had been expected.
What happens next
Monday is the first working day since the agreement, so it will be the first weekday test for commuters. Another strike has been called for Tuesday. The R7 works at Montcada Bifurcació run until Dec. 6.
Source: 3Cat 324
